As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to these users is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may vary with respect to the type of information handled; the methods for handling the information; the methods for processing, storing or communicating the information; the amount of information processed, stored, or communicated; and the speed and efficiency with which the information is processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include or comprise a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
An information handling system may include software and firmware components that need to be periodically updated, such as a system-wide basic input/output system (“BIOS”) or component firmware. The updated software or firmware components are typically transmitted over a network medium to the operators of an information handling system, who must then update the software or firmware in the information handling system. In the case of the system BIOS, for example, an administrator of a network with multiple information handling systems typically must verify first that the update is authentic—that it is from the manufacturer—and second that the updated software or firmware does not contain any bugs or will not otherwise conflict with the network configuration. Once the updated software or firmware is verified, the administrator may place the updates on a list of approved updates. Unfortunately, existing technology does not prevent a user of the network or a local user of an information handling system from circumventing the network policies and updating the software or firmware components with unapproved updates. Such unapproved updates can lead to widespread network instability and network vulnerability.